


Big brother, best friend

by SugdenLovesDingle



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Andy is a good brother, Homophobia, Jack is still a homophobe, M/M, Teen AU, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25517215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugdenLovesDingle/pseuds/SugdenLovesDingle
Summary: Jack catches Robert and Aaron together.orWhat if Aaron was the lad from Robert's SSW16 confession
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Comments: 16
Kudos: 88





	Big brother, best friend

**Author's Note:**

> excuse the dodgy title, I couldn't think of anything better

Robert smiled to himself. For once, things were looking up in his life. The summer holidays had started and even though his parents were going through some stuff and he’d most likely be spending his summer working on the farm, he didn’t mind much this year. His dad had been talking about hiring someone to help out on the farm for months and Robert had eventually convinced him to hire Aaron. The stepson of their local vet... and Robert’s boyfriend. Though Jack didn’t know that last part. All he knew is that Robert didn’t complain about the farm work anymore and the two of them and Andy got a lot more done than Jack would have without help.

“Alright lads, that’s enough for now. We’re due a break don’t you think?” Jack said, wiping his hands on his overalls. “I think your mum’s made some lunch for us.”

“Aaron and I were going to get something from the cafe.” Robert said innocently. “I fancy a milkshake and something chocolate-y.” 

“Fine.” Jack said after a beat. “You’ve got your own money. But I want you back here in an hour. We have work to do.”

“Sure thing mister Sugden.” Aaron called out as Jack and Andy walked back towards the house.

“Sure thing mister Sugden.” Robert teased as soon as Jack was out of earshot. “No need to suck up to him, he’s already hired you.”

“Yeah, well, I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t want him to sack me and not see you all summer.”

Robert smiled and quickly glanced over his shoulder to make sure the coast was clear before pressing a kiss to Aaron’s lips.

“Come on.” He said and grabbed Aaron’s hand and dragged him into the barn they’d been painting.

“I thought you wanted to go down to the village?”.

“I changed my mind.” Robert said, pulling Aaron close and kissing him . “We’ve got a whole hour to ourselves, I can think of better things to do than spend it with Bob.”

Aaron grinned and let Robert pull him further into the barn, full on laughing when Robert let himself fall backwards into some hay and waited for Aaron to join him.

“So what do you want to do then?” Aaron asked as he settled into the hay next to Robert.

Robert rolled onto his side to face Aaron and cupped his cheek.

“A lot less talking... a lot more of this.” He closed the gap between them and softly kissed Aaron. Just a slight press of lips at first. Tentative and almost chaste but soon turning into something more.

Aaron happily let Robert take charge and deepen the kiss. He loved kissing Robert and feeling like they were hidden away from the rest of the world in their little bubble.

Somehow their legs had gotten tangled together and Aaron’s hands had slipped under Robert’s shirt, while the other boy’s fingers were playing with his hair.

“Hi.” Robert pulled back, hovering over Aaron, slightly out of breath.

“Hi.” Aaron replied, stroking the skin on Robert’s lower back.

“Having fun?”

“’S alright.”

Robert grinned.

“Just alright? I’ll have to do better then.” He said and dropped a kiss on Aaron’s lips before moving to his neck, pulling his shirt out of the way and sucking a bruise on the sensitive skin.

Aaron wanted to protest and tell Robert not to leave marks on him but when Robert pushed him onto his back and rolled on top of him, all coherent thoughts went out the window.

Robert’s hands and mouth seemed to be everywhere at once and before Aaron really realised what he was doing, he was yanking his t shirt over his head and watched Robert do the same.

“Better than alright now?” Robert asked as Aaron ran his hands over his chest.

“Getting there.” Aaron replied, pulling Robert back down, desperate to feel his boyfriend’s bare chest against his own.

The two of them got so lost in each other, neither of them heard the footsteps approaching the barn.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!” Jack demanded loudly, snapping the two boys out of their bubble and making them jump apart.

“Dad!” Robert managed to say while Aaron just looked shell shocked.

“What is going on here, Robert?” Jack asked again, slightly less loud but no less threatening.

“I... uh.. we uh... we were just... uh...“ Robert stammered, looking around for his shirt.

“Just _what_?”

“I... It’s... we’re... uh...”

“Just shut your mouth!“ Jack snapped. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“I uh... I should go...” Aaron said, hastily pulling his shirt over his head and avoiding making eye contact with Jack.

“Yes you should. And don’t bother coming back. Consider yourself sacked. I don’t need people like you around here taking advantage of my son.”

“He wasn’t taking advantage of me! I wanted it! It was my idea!” Robert protested. “We’re... we’re together...” he added quietly.

“Like hell you are!” Jack bellowed. “Get in the house, now. And wait for me. This conversation isn’t over.” He turned to Aaron. “I don’t ever want to see your face around here again. Not alone, and not with Paddy. I’ll call him to explain why you’re no longer welcome here.”

Aaron wanted to reply but caught Robert shaking his head from the corner of his eye.

Instead he brushed the hay off his clothes and left. Stopping for a second to look Jack in the eye.

“Go easy on him, please.”

“How I raise my son is my business, not yours. Now get out.”

\---

Later that day Robert was lying on his bed in his room staring at the wall. His head and whole body ached from crying and the fight he’d had with his father after he’d sent Aaron away.

“Knock, knock.” he heard Andy say before walking into the room.

“Go away.”

“It’s my room too.” Andy reasoned and Robert could tell by the creaking of the mattress he’d sat down on his own bed. “What happened? Where did Aaron go?”

Robert snorted but it sounded more like a sob.

“Ask dad.”

“I tried but he wouldn’t tell me.” Andy told him. “We finished the barn together and then he just said we’d done enough for today... He was in a bad mood.”

“He always is.”

“He was happy enough this morning. And so were you.”

“Yeah, well, that was this morning. This is now.”

“Did something happen in the village?” Andy asked after a few minutes.

“We didn’t go to the village.”

“Oh... what did you do then that got dad so worked up?”

“Nothing. Drop it.”

“Doesn’t seem like nothing to me...” Andy pushed.

Robert groaned and turned around to face his brother.

“Dad walked in on me and Aaron in the barn ok?!” he sat up. “He sacked Aaron on the spot and leathered me!” He angrily wiped the fresh tears from his face. “I’m grounded and not allowed to see him again.”

“He what?!” Andy asked, shocked. “But... what... he walked in on you and Aaron... doing what?”

Robert raised an eyebrow and gave Andy a pointed look.

“Oh... right... I uh... didn’t know you were gay...”

“I’m not.” Robert said right away. “I... I like girls too... I like both...”

Andy nodded slowly.

“And you like Aaron?”

“Yeah. I like him a lot.” Robert took a deep breath. “Aaron is my boyfriend. We’re together.”

Andy seemed to take a minute to process the information.

“Well... at least I don’t have to worry about you and Katie Addyman anymore then.” he said with a chuckle. “How long have you and Aaron been together then?”

Robert shrugged.

“A few months.” he said, trying to sound casual. Like he didn’t know the exact moment Aaron had kissed him for the first time. The night before his birthday, out by the cricket pavilion.

“That long? I had no idea. Who else knows?”

“Nobody. And we liked it like that. Just the two of us.”

Andy nodded.

“And when you told dad you were going to the village you thought you had some time alone...”

“Yeah.” Robert sighed. “Nothing happened really. We were just kissing...in the hay... without shirts...”

Andy grinned.

“Smooth.”

“Shut up.” Robert said but couldn’t help but match his brother’s grin. “We didn’t plan it or anything... and we’ve never...you know...” he paused to make sure Andy knew what he was talking about.

“Never?”

“Not really... not... all the way...” he bit his lip. “We wanted it to be special... our first time. Not in the barn when dad thinks we’re in the village.”

Andy nodded again and sat back against the wall.

“So how’s Aaron now?”

“I don’t know... Dad sacked him and sent him away... and he took my phone.”

Andy dug his phone out of his pocket and threw it on Robert’s bed.

“Use mine.”

“I don’t know his number.”

“I have his number. I had to do that project for history with him, remember? When you had to work with Debbie Dingle and the whole school thought you were sleeping with her.”

“She hates me.” Robert commented absent-mindedly as he typed a text to Aaron. “She likes you though. She asked me if you were single once.”

“I know. We’ve hooked up a few times.” Andy shrugged.

“Really? What about Katie?”

“What about her? We’re not together. She doesn’t own me.”

Robert shook his head and turned his attention back to the screen, smiling when he read Aaron’s reply.

“So is he ok then?”

“Yeah... dad hasn’t called Paddy yet so nobody knows.” Robert replied, not taking his eyes off the screen. “He’s asking me if I’m alright... I already told him I’m fine but he doesn’t believe me.”

“Go see him.” Andy suggested.

Robert looked up from the phone.

“How? I’m grounded remember? Dad’s never going to let me go out, especially not to see Aaron.”

“He doesn’t have to know. I’ll distract him and cover for you if he asks anything.”

Robert hesitated but then typed something on Andy’s phone before handing it back to him as he got up from the bed.

“Thanks for doing this.”

“Of course. That’s what big brothers are for.”

“We’re the same age.”

“I’m a few months older. That counts.” Andy laughed and pushed him towards their bedroom door. “Now go, get out of here. Tell Aaron I said hi.”


End file.
